[Article] Payzone's RPA ticket deal

[Colm Moore]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/0305/1224265627321.htmlPayzone's RPA ticket deal

IRISH ELECTRONIC payments group Payzone, which is led by Mike Maloney, is believed to have been successful in winning a contract from the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) for the long-awaited and much anticipated integrating ticketing for bus and rail services.

Payzone, which also holds the contract for the M50 barrier-free tolling, was part of a consortium and appears to have beaten its rivals Pay Point and Post Point to the punch, although no official announcement has yet been made. This contract win comes hot on the heels of a major financial restructuring of Payzone, which saw its lenders convert a large chunk of debt into equity, wiping out existing shareholders and delisting the company from the stock market in London.

While the RPA contract looks like a good deal for Payzone, retailers aren’t so happy. Dublin retailers make a near 4 per cent margin on the sale of bus tickets, but they only get about 1 per cent from Payzone for the sale of M50 top-ups. They are concerned similar margins might be employed for bus and rail tickets.

Payzone and the RPA have yet to show their hand and some interesting negotiations lie ahead if integrated ticketing is to finally become a reality.

[Thomas Ralph]

I'm not sure I'd be all that enthusiastic about that concept. Payzone outlets are quite sparse outside the city centre, and many of the outlets that do exist don't offer the full range of services.

[markpb]

I'm not sure I'd be all that enthusiastic about that concept. Payzone outlets are quite sparse outside the city centre, and many of the outlets that do exist don't offer the full range of services.

I'm guessing that the existing DB/Luas ticket sellers will become RPA/Payzone ticket sellers in the future. Between those and the 55 existing Payzone retailers in the city centre (D1 & D2), there should be quite a few places selling ITS tickets.

[Colm Moore]

I'm guessing that the existing DB/Luas ticket sellers will become RPA/Payzone ticket sellers in the future. Between those and the 55 existing Payzone retailers in the city centre (D1 & D2), there should be quite a few places selling ITS tickets.People should really only need to get tickets once (unless lost / stolen). Surely the market will be in top-ups, which I think I'd much prefer the TVMs (with nice crisp €20) and ATMs (direct account-account transfer) to do.

[Mark Gleeson]

As Irish Rail are going to provide a web interface to top up and auto debit functions we can expect that in ITS

Obviously bus users are going to need somewhere to top up 'in the field', rail and luas is easy as there are TVM's at all stops

[Colm Moore]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0308/1224265794584.htmlTesting of new public transport ticket system to start in weeks
TIM O'BRIEN

TESTING OF the new integrated ticketing system for public transport in Dublin is to get under way within weeks, with a pilot project beginning before the summer.

According to the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) “bench testing” of the card scanners and back-office systems has gone well, and physical testing of the cards on the Luas and Dublin Bus vehicles will now begin.

Following this anyone with annual tickets for either Dublin Bus or Luas will be invited to take part in pilot project which will get under way “before the summer” according to the RPA project manager Tim Gaston.

However, the RPA is keen to avoid a “big bang” opening with service providers and commuters being added gradually over the coming year.

Ultimately all licensed mass public transport providers in Dublin will be able to use the integrated ticketing system, providing Dubliners with a new, flexible way of paying for travel which is similar to the Oyster card employed by Transport for London.

According to Mr Gaston those selected for the pilot project will receive “some reward”. If the project goes well numbers will be expanded and testing will then move on to the pay-as-you-go cards after the summer.

Early next year Irish Rail systems will be integrated and the infrastructure will gradually be rolled out to non-State-owned bus companies.

The system is designed to handle transactions worth hundreds of millions of euro per year, scanning prepaid smart card tickets with “proximity” readers similar to those currently in use for Luas smart cards, and passing on the money to the relevant transport company.

The two main elements of technology are the scanners, the technology for which the RPA is sourcing from Germany, and the “back office” computers which apportion the money. Back-office technology is being provided by IBM.

Mr Gaston said the RPA was in discussion with a number of firms on the provision of credit-loading facilities for the smart cards, but refused to comment on reports that a deal had been done with PayPal for the provision of such services.

The new system is also expected to have an effect on unlicensed operators, making them less attractive to commuters because they will not be able to accept the new cards.